The Historias podcast is a weekly program featuring scholars, journalists, and activists discussing cutting edge research and offering perceptive observations on current events associated with Latin American and Caribbean societies. If you are looking for smart and inviting conversation on a wide variety of issues and more, this show is for you. Historias is a digital media project from the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS).
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In March 2026, we mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 military coup in Argentina. To reflect on its significance within a broader regional frame, we speak with historians Sebastián Carassai and Kevin Coleman, editors of Coups d’État in Cold War Latin America, 1964–1982. Their work adopts a comparative approach across cases such as Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Central America, examining…
En este episodio escuchamos a la historiadora Valeria Coronel, directora de doctorado de historia andina de FLACSO. Una tremenda que ofrece un pantallazo de la historia y la historiografía del Ecuador y de America Latina desde fines del siglo XIX hasta el presente.
In this final episode, Renata and Dustin examine the resolution and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They speak with Michelle Paranzino, Carlos Alzugaray, James Hershberg, Lorraine Bayard de Volo, Peter Kornbluh, William LeoGrande, Michelle Chase, Michael Bustamante, and Aaron Coy Moulton.
In this episode, Renata and Dustin examine the Cuban Missile Crisis and its moments of greatest danger. They speak with scholars including Carlos Alzugaray Treto, Michelle Chase, James Hershberg, Peter Kornbluh,Michelle Parazino, and Lars Schoultz.
In this episode, Dustin and Renata discuss the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the ways that the invasion set the stage for the Cuban Missile Crisis. They speak with scholars including Michael Bustamante, Jonathan C. Brown, Lillian Guerra, Michelle Chase, and William LeoGrande.
In this episode, Renata Keller and Dustin Walcher look at the global repercussions of the Cuban Revolution, analyzing Cuba’s relations with the United States, Latin America, the Soviet Union, and the Global South. They speak to scholars including Lillian Guerra, Lorraine Bayard de Volo, William M. LeoGrande, Jonathan C. Brown, Aaron Coy Moulton, James Hershberg, Eric Gettig, Michelle Chase, and…
In this episode, Dustin and Renata explore the many changes that the Cuban Revolution brought to the island, as well as Cubans’reactions to those changes. We speak withMichelle Chase, Lillian Guerra, Eric Getting, and Michael Bustamante.
In this episode, Dustin and Renata explain their goal for the audiodocumentary: to teach listeners about the Cuban context of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They speak with Lars Schoultz, Lillian Guerra, William LeoGrande, Carlos Alzugaray, Lorraine Bayard de Volo, Michael Bustamante, and Michelle Chase about the deep history of Cuba’s struggles for sovereignty that formed the backdrop of theCuban…
Carmen Soliz and Edward Brudney interview sociologist and activist Caitlin Schroering about their new book: Global Solidarities Against Water Grabbing.
Comenzamos el nuevo ciclo de Historias con una entrevista al historiador Daniel Mendiola, autor de The Mosquito Confederation: A Borderlands History of Colonial Central America. Este libro, centrado en el siglo XVIII, invita a repensar la construcción de los imperios y las fronteras tanto en el pasado como en el presente. Mendiola es doctor en Historia Latinoamericana por la Universidad de Houston…
In this episode, historians Aldo Marchesi, Amanda Waterhouse, and Thomas Field examine the role of U.S. aid in Latin America, helping us place this institution’s history in context—particularly in light of Trump’s recent move to restrict or cut foreign assistance to the region.
En este episodio, Edward Brudney y Carmen Soliz conversan con los historiadores Fabricio Prado y Alex Borucki sobre sus aportes a la historia del Río de la Plata. Discutimos cómo su trabajo desafió el nacionalismo metodológico y sus aportes a los estudios de redes sociales y comerciales transimperiales. Alex Borucki es autor de From Shipmates to Soldiers: Emerging Black Identities in the Río de la…
Julia Sarreal conversa con Edward Brudney y Carmen Soliz sobre Yerba Mate: The Drink that Shaped a Nation, el primer libro que explora la historia de esta icónica bebida en Argentina desde la época precolonial hasta la actualidad. Sarreal narra cómo el mate pasó de ser una tradición indígena a un símbolo omnipresente en la colonia, su asociación con los sectores rurales y populares en el siglo…
Edward Brudney y Carmen Soliz entrevistan a la historiadora Margarita Fajardo para hablar sobre su innovador libro The World That Latin America Created: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era. En su obra, Fajardo revela cómo un grupo de intelectuales transformaron la economía del desarrollo y redefinieron el papel de América Latina en el escenario global.
In this episode, historian Paulina Alberto joins us to talk about her award-winning book Black Legend, published by Cambridge University Press in 2022. Celebrated with the 2023 Bolton-Johnson Prize for Best Book in Latin American History and the 2023 Southern Cone Section Award for Best Book in the Social Sciences, Black Legend has quickly become a must-read. Tune in to discover the groundbreaking…
El Estado Rural estudia la política interna de una comunidad de la sierra central peruana, desde principios del siglo XX, cuando el estado peruano reconoció la legalidad de las comunidades indígenas, hasta finales del conflicto armado en la década de 1990. Este largo arco temporal permite al autor analizar un siglo de intervenciones estatales y mercantiles en el campo y sus repercusiones en la…
Several scholars, including Joanne Rappaport, Sinclair Thomson, Gavin O'Toole, and Bret Gustafson, have praised Brooke Larson's book as a monumental, meticulously documented history of Indigenous education in twentieth-century Bolivia.
Los historiadores Lina Britto y Ricardo López Pedreros -editores de dos volúmenes, Historias de soledad e Historias de perplejidad- reflexionan sobre las trayectorias personales y académicas que impulsaron la producción de esta obra, las condiciones de producción de conocimiento en Estados Unidos y América Latina, y la importancia de utilizar Colombia como lente para mirar a las Américas y al…
Rafael Archondo and Isabel Siles’ Sobre un barril de pólvora, is a comprehensive review of the former president’s life, Hernan Siles Zuazo (1913-1996). He was one of the founding members of the nationalist revolutionary party (MNR) in 1942. He was elected two times as president (1956-1960 and 1982-1985), and his role was vital to consolidate revolutionary achievements like Agrarian Reform or…
Dr. Sarah Hines explores residents of Cochabamba struggle for access to water that is linked to broader historical processes such as the dispossession and dismantling of indigenous communities in the 19th century, the Bolivian revolution of 1952, and the dictatorships of the 1960s and 1970s. Her book argues that the Cochabambinos defeated privatization in the Water War in 2000 because they…
Dr. Nicole Pacino is an associate professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Nicole has studied the effects of the policies of the 1952 Revolution on rural health, particularly on indigenous women. Her work shows how maternity was a central axis of the nationalist policies of the MNR that strived to create/consolidate the nation.
Elizabeth Shesko argues that conscription evolved into a pact between the state and society. It was not only imposed from above but also embraced from below because it provided a space for Bolivians across divides of education, ethnicity, and social class to negotiate their relationships with each other and the state. Shesko contends that state formation built around military service has been…
Kevin Young traces the history of Bolivian struggles over mineral and hydrocarbon resources, highlighting the complex legacies of Bolivia’s 1952 revolution. His work also revolves around the various economic projects that party officials, political party leaders, activists, urban factory workers, university students, and mine workers proposed to address a key question for Bolivians: How to…
Dr. Natalie Kimball analyzes the politics of abortion and reproductive rights in Bolivia from the mid-twentieth century to the present. They focus on the cities of La Paz and El Alto, exploring this open secret that brings to light the complex relationship of Bolivian nationalist, military, neoliberal, and leftist governments with women’s reproductive rights.
Elena McGrath explores how culture and material conditions create revolutionary conditions. In this interview, Elena helps us understand how the lives of mine workers and their families changed after the revolution. Elena demonstrates that the revolution brought the mine workers and their families an unprecedented sense of citizenship that did not limit to the right to vote but also to the right…
Dr. Thomas Field, author of *From Development to Dictatorship: Bolivia and the Alliance for Progress in the Kennedy Era,* discusses the fall of the Revolution in 1964 and the accession to power of General René Barrientos. He argues that, unlike other military regimes, Barrientos did not reverse the most prominent conquests of the Revolution. His interpretation of the Barrientos regime challenges…
Dr. José Gordillo studies the role of the peasants in the 1952 Bolivian Revolution. His book is an ethnography of local political struggle, adding to an increasingly rich literature on the revolution that seeks to understand revolutionary political dynamics from below.
En este episodio escuchamos al politólogo Rafael Britto quien fue además parte de la campaña del ahora presidente de Colombia, Gustavo Petro. Britto nos habla de las condiciones, de las oportunidades, y de los desafíos que enfrentará este nuevo gobierno de izquierda en América Latina.
La Dra. Sarah T. Hines habla con Carmen de la lucha social por el acceso al agua y la ingeniería hidráulica en Bolivia desde finales del siglo XIX hasta principios del XXI. book - https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520381643/water-for-all website - https://www.ou.edu/cas/history/people/faculty/sarah-hines
Dr. Michael Bustamante joined Steven to discuss his book *Cuban Memory Wars: Retrospective Politics in Revolution and Exile*. Michael J. Bustamante is Associate Professor of History and the Emilio Bacardí Moreau Chair in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. https://people.miami.edu/profile/m.bustamante@miami.edu https://uncpress.org/book/9781469662039/cuban-memory-wars/
En este episodio tenemos el placer de escuchar al etnohistoriador Amos Megged quien nos habla desde la Universidad de Haifa (Israel) para hablar sobre su ultimo libro *Rituals and Sisterhoods* que explora las historias de mujeres solteras, plebeyas, y jefas de hogar en el Mexico Colonial.
Today Dustin welcomes Dr. Elizabeth Schwall to the podcast to talk about the relationship between dance and politics in Cuba. An interdisciplinary scholar of Latin American history and dance, Schwall is the author of Dancing with the Revolution: Power, Politics, and Privilege in Cuba (University of North Carolina Press, 2021). She explains the various ways that staged dance was infused with…
Dr. Lina Britto joins Steven to discuss her book *Marijuana Boom: The Rise and Fall of Colombia's First Drug Paradise*.
En un episodio especial, la Dra. Lina Britto recibe a la Dra. Carmen Soliz de Historias. Hablan del nuevo libro de Carmen *Fields of Revolution: Agrarian Reform and Rural State Formation in Bolivia, 1935-1964.* Que disfruten. Book: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822946656/ Carmen: https://history.charlotte.edu/people/dr-carmen-soliz
La antropologa Ana Ramos-Zayas habla de su nuevo libro *Parenting Empires: Whiteness, Class, and the Moral Economy of Privilege in Latin America * con Carmen. https://americanstudies.yale.edu/people/ana-ramos-zayas https://www.dukeupress.edu/parenting-empires
Dr. Rafael Ocasio, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Spanish at Agnes Scott University, joined Steven to discuss his new anthology *Folk Stories from the Hills of Puerto Rico*. https://www.agnesscott.edu/directory/faculty/ocasio-rafael.html https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/folk-stories-from-the-hills-of-puerto-rico-cuentos-folkloricos-de-las-montanas-de-puerto-rico/9781978822986
Dr. Sharika Crawford of the US Naval Academy joins Steven to discuss her book *The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean: Waterscapes of Labor, Conservation, and Boundary Making*. https://www.usna.edu/History/Faculty/Crawford.php https://uncpress.org/book/9781469660219/the-last-turtlemen-of-the-caribbean/ Intro: https://youtu.be/fDrJPM9m_Ss
Dr. Joshua Frens-String habla de su libro *Hungry for Revolution: The Politics of Food and the Making of Modern Chile* con Carmen. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520343375/hungry-for-revolution
Our Fall season finale has arrived! Today, Steven and Dustin welcome Dr. Jenny Pribble to the program to explain Chile’s presidential election. Dr. Pribble is Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Studies at the University of Richmond, and the author of Welfare and Party Politics in Latin America. Join us for a wonderful conversation to learn more about the significance of Gabriel…
The end of 2021 brings with us a busy season of elections in Latin America. In today’s episode, Dr. Christine Wade walks Dustin through November’s presidential election in Honduras, which saw the triumph of Xiomara Castro. Join us for a fascinating and informative conversation!
Today’s episode features an entertaining and illuminating conversation about Mexico, the United States, and drugs, between Steven and Dr. Benjamin T. Smith of the University of Warwick. Smith is the author of the new book, The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade, which analyzes a series of issues surrounding the drug trade going back more than a century. In addition to political…
Gabriel Thoumi CFA, FRM, Director of Financial Markets and Head of the Plastics Programme at Planet Tracker, joined Steven to discuss his work in aligning capital markets with planetary boundaries. They discuss the urgency of tackling climate change, the environmental and health challenges caused by the production and use of plastics, and the importance of marshaling resources and collaborators to…
On November 7, 2021, Daniel Ortega won his fourth consecutive term as president of Nicaragua in an election roundly assailed as both unfree and unfair. Prior to election day, the Nicaraguan state incarcerated presidential candidates from opposition parties and leaders and activists from a variety of social movements and civil society organizations. Steven spoke with Dr. Eline Van Ommen to better…
Our ongoing series on Latin America’s Cold War continues, returning to Chile. Dustin sat down with Dr. James Lockhart, Assistant Professor of History at Zayed University, to talk about his book, Chile, the CIA and the Cold War: A Transatlantic Perspective (Edinburgh University Press, 2019). Lockhart explains the importance of situating Latin America’s Cold War into the story of the Global Cold…
Steven welcomed Dr. John French to the program to talk about his new book, Lula and His Politics of Cunning: From Metalworker to President of Brazil. Their highly engaging conversation touched on themes of labor, gender, social movements, and politics. The pair also discussed the opportunities that exist for well-constructed biographies, and Eric Hobsbawn’s interest in Latin America. Have a…
Dr. Irina Popescu joins Steven to discuss her latest article entitled "Memorialization and Escraches: Ni una Menos and the documentation of Feminicidio in Argentina," published recently in The Latin Americanist. More about Irina - https://www.bowdoin.edu/profiles/faculty/ipopescu/index.html Her article - https://muse.jhu.edu/article/805479
Dustin welcomed Dr. Alan Shane Dillingham onto the podcast to talk about his new book, Oaxaca Resurgent: Indigeneity, Development, and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Mexico. He was treated to a wide-ranging conversation touching on numerous themes in indigenous, Mexican, and modern Latin American history. Enjoy!
La historiadora Dra. Lina Britto habla de su libro nuevo que se llama *Marijuana Boom The Rise and Fall of Colombia's First Drug Paradise* con Carmen Soliz. Que disfruten. https://history.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/core-faculty/lina-britto.html https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520325470/marijuana-boom Intro: Diomedes Díaz - Lluvia De Verano - https://youtu.be/BiM3c2Dh78k Outro: Los Hermanos…
In today’s episode, Steven welcomed Dr. Bill Cohoon to the podcast to talk about his article, “Los caminos borbónicos y el esfuerzo por mejorar la infraestructura de comunicaciones en el Perú, 1718-1809.” Along the way, they discuss the opportunities that come with teaching at the secondary level in a preparatory school with a Ph.D., and maintaining an active research agenda. Enjoy!
Dr. Frederico Freitas joined Carlos to discuss his book *Nationalizing Nature: Iguazu Falls and National Parks at the Brazil-Argentina Border*.
